Honey extractor



Novo 9 Y Y Y W. F. VoLLMr-:R ET An.

HONEY EXTRACTOR Filed Novf a, 1920 v 5 sheets-sheet 1 jfzvenvru. vfmwy,

Nov.; ZU,- 19723. 3,474,865

W. F. voLLMER ET Al.

HONEY EXTRACTOR Filed Nov. 8, 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 2U 1923. ,'AWl

W. F. VOLLMER ET Al.

HONEY EXTRACTOR Filed Nov. `s. 1 920 5 ysheets-sheet 5 Nov. zo, 1923.11,4%,865 W. F. VOLLMER ET AL HONEY EXTRACTOR Filed Nov. 8, 1920 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov. 2Q i923. V I 1,474,865

y W. F, VOLLMER LET AL HONEY EXTRAGTQR vFilled Nov. 8, 1920 5SheetsvSheet 5 Patented Nov. 20, i923.

WILLIAM F. VOLLMER, 0F AKRON, AND JOHN N. DE MUTH, OF PEMBROKE, NEWYORK.

HONEY EXTRACTOR,

Application filed November 8, 1920. Serial No. 422,494.

To cil y'zo/imay t may concern.'

Be it known that we, l/VILLIAM F. VOLL- Mnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Akron, in the county of Erie and State of New York,and JOHN N. DE MUTH, a citizen of the United States, residing atPembroke, in the county of Genesee and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Honey Extractors, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for expelling the honey from thecells of honey combs by centrifugal force.

One of the objects of the invention is to permit of emptying thehoney-containing cells on both sides of each honey comb while the mainframe of the machine is being rotated continuously in one direction andat a high rate of speed. V

A further object is to provide an improved basket or holder for thehoney combs which has the requisite strength and stiffness to preventits sagging or bending out of shape in the course of time.

Another object is to improve the construction of the machine with a viewof materially increasing its extracting capacity.

The invention has the further object to improve this class of machinesin various other respects,` as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the machine on line 1 1,Fig. 2. Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 242, Fig. 1. Figure 3is a similar section' on line 8 3, Fig. 1; looking upwardly. Figure 4 isan enlarged side elevation, with one side broken away, of one form ofhoneycomb basket adapted to carry a single comb. l*1 igure 5 is anenlarged end elevation of the saine with portions of the supporting ringbroken away. Figure is an enlarged top plan of a modified Vform ofsupporting basket in which two honeycombs are carried in each basket.Figure 7 is a side elevation of the same. Figure 8 is an enlarged hottomplan thereof. i

Similar' characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views.

ln its general organization, this honey eX- .tractor comprises a powerdriven, rotatable frame arranged in a honey-receiving tank or vessel 11and carrying a number of supporting baskets for the honey-combs whichmay be simultaneously rotated relatively to said main rotary frame toreverse the honey combs from time to time in order to subject both sidesthereof to the centrifugalseparating action of the machine and fully eX-tract the honey from the combs. The last- Vmentioned movement of thebaskets is preferably effected by frictional driving means and at acomparatively slow speed, so that the high speed of rotation of saidrotary frame does not have to be lessened while this independentreversing movement of the supporting baskets is being effected.

In the preferred form shown in the drawings, the honey-receiving tank 11is cylindrical and provided with a conical bottom 12. The honeycollected in said tank may be periodically discharged through a valvedspout or outlet pipe 18 located near its bottom. Secured to the centralupper face of the conical bottom 12 is a step bearing let in which isjournaled the lower end of an upright shaft 15. The upper end of saidshaft is journaled in an upper bearing 16, mounted centrally on abridgepiece 17 extending across the top of the tank and secured theretoby clamping bolts 19. The said upright shaft may be power driven in anysuitable way, the means shown in the drawings being satisfactory andconsisting of a horizontal drive-shaft 2G journaled on the bridge-piece17 and carrying at its outer end a belt-pulley 21 which may be connectedto any suitable source of power. The inner end of said drive shaft isprovided with a friction disk or wheel Q2 which is adapted tofrictionally engage with a leather faced, friction-wheel 23 secured tothe upper end of the upright shaft 15. To obtain different rotativespeeds of the latter, it is only necessary to loosen the set screw Q4 ofthe friction wheel :23 and then shift it toward or from the axis ofrotation of said friction disk 22, after which the set screw 2e is againtightenec. Any suitable means may be employed for shifting the frictiondisk 22 into and out of gear with the friction wheel 23.

The shaft 15 has secured to its lower end a head or disk 30 to which isfastened a spider or a set of radial arms 81, as shown in Figs, "1 and9. Secured to the upper ion portion of said shalt is a similar disk 34carrying an upper spider or set oi' radial arms 33, and connecting theouter ends ot the upper and lower spider-arms are a number of uprightequidistant traine-bars 32. Secured to the upper faces oit said upperflange 34 and theV upper radial arms 33, is a horizontal baille disk orvplate 35 whose periphery is disposed but a short distance from the wallor' the tank 11. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lower radial arms 31 areadditionally connected together' and mutually lbraced by a horizontalring 36 arranged concentrically to the upright shaft 15. This ringtogether with the upper and lower spiders 33 and 31, the uprighttrame-bars 32 and the baille disk 35, constitute a skeleton traine whichis adapted to rotate with the shaiit 15 and carry the honey-'combbaskets hereinafter described. VFor the purpose of stopping` therotation of said frame, when desired, a brake ot any suitableconstruction may be employed, that shown comprising an ordinary brakedrum 37 Vsecured to the upper portion ot the upright shaft 15 and abrake band 39 surrounding said drum and adapted -to be tightenedthereon'by a brake lever 40 `fulcrumed at 41 on the bridge `piece 17.

Suitably mounted in said main rotary frame and adapted to be reversed orrotated relatively thereto, whenever desired, are a number of honey-combbaskets 43 each otl which comprises a pair ot' vertical side plates A44disposed at either side ol' the basket, a

horizontal tension bar 45 connecting the lower ends of said side plates,and an ap-V proximately V-shaped compresion bar 46 secured to oppositeends ot said tension b'ar 45. These tension and co1n} ression .bars

V:torna a truss which extends across the bottom of the basket and givesit the necessary Y strength and stiiliness to resist sagging ordistortion under the weight ot the contained honey-comb or combs.

Each basketl is provided atits'lower end with an axial pivot or stud 47,the upper portion whereof is received between the said tension bar 45and the said compression bar 46, while its reduced lower portion extendsbelow the compression bar. Each ot these Apivots is ournaled at itslower end in a bearing in the carrying ri'ngfl, the downward pressure ofthe basket being preferably sustained by an anti-friction thrust. washer4) encircling the pivot between the carrying ring 36 and the compressionbar 46.

A plurality of spaced horizontal parallel retaining bars 50 extendacross the iront and rear sides of each'basket, the opposite endsthereof being brazed or otherwise secured to opposite edges of the. sideplates 44 of the basket. The' central or intermediate portion of eachretaining bar is "preferably -stitlened byone or more integrallongitudinal ribs 50L of V-shaped cross section, as best shown in Figs.4 and 5. Resting against the inside faces of the said retaining bars'and restrained against outward displacement thereby, are a pair oivertical retaining screens 51 which bear against opposite sides ot thehoney-combs in a manner common to such machines.V

The honey-combs, as they come from the hive, are provided with a woodentraine suol as indicated by dotted lines 52 in Fig. 4, and these framesinvariably have one side wall extending somewhat beyond the adjacentends ot the trame, as indicated at 53. For the purpose ot supporting thehoney-comb holding frame 52 in a level and vupright position,notwithstanding the projecting wall 53, a number of raised seats orrisers 54 are secured to the upper tace of the tension bar 45 of thebasket, these risers being high enough to elevate said well clear of thefloor of the basket.

In some cases, the honey-comb carrying frames are smaller than the sizetor which the machine is primarily designed. ln such a ease, to preventundue lateral displacenient ot said frame, a vertically disposedremovable tiller block 55, Fig. 4, may be einployed which occupies theportionV oi? the supporting honey-comb. The lower end of this -tlllerblock is provided with a downwardly-projecting pin 56 whichis adapted teengage with either of two pairs ot vertical holes 5T formed in both thecompression bar 45 and tension bar 46 of each supporting basket onopposite sides ot its axis. The ,upper end ot' the filler block isprovided with a laterally and outwardly projecting screw stud 59 whichis adapted to slip down into and firmly engage with a key-hole slot 60which Formed centrally in the upper end oi each ot the upright stripsot' each carrying basket.V It is desirable to round or cut oi'fobliquely the upper end (3l et the tiller block to 'facilitate Vthefilling and en'iptying of the supporting basket. lt is obvious that sucha Eller block may be used at either or both Vsides oi each ot thecarrying baskets, and it is tor this reason that the holes 57 areduplicated. Y

The upper ends of the vertical side plates 44 of each basketare securedto the inner tace oi ar rotary horizontal supporting ring or gear rim 62which is received within an opening 63 in the baille plate 35 and isguided by a number oi rollers 64 mounted on the l. aiile-plateas bestsho-wn in Fig. 3. Each ot said supporting rings is .provided with anupper peripheral flange having gear teeth 65, which, inthe caseoi onepair of supporting rings, mesh with and are driven by a pair oi? drivegears 66 suitably journaled on the rotarv iaine oi' the machine, in thiscase on the upper head or iiange -34. The

basket. not occupied by the lll() llO Ll O

of transfer, spur other pair of supporting rings are drivensynchronously with and by the aforementioned pair of supporting rings,by a pair gears 67 which are `iournaled on the baille plate and meshwith the gear teeth of the adjacent supporting rings 62, so as totransfer the power, in each case, from the pair of supporting ringswhich is 'driven positively by the drive gears 66 to the oth-er pair ofsupporting rings. Each of said drive gears 66 is coaXia-lly connectedwith an intermediate spur gear 69 whose diameter is preferably somewhatgreater than that of the gears 66. The two intermediate gears 69 meshwith opposite sides of a spur or sun-gear 70 which is looselyjournaledon the upright shaft 15. The hub of said loose gear extendsupwardly and is secured to the hub of a manually-operated reversing orbrake drum 71 similar to the brake-drum 37. 400 indicates ahorizontally-swinging brake handle or lever pivoted to the bridge piece17 at 410 and 390 a flexible brake band embracing said drum and securedto pivots f 420 on said leverwhereby movement of the lever in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, tightens said band 390 onthe reversing drum, enabling the operator to hold said drum and ysaidloose gear 70 from turning. When this isdone, while the rotary basketcarrying frame is in motion, the planetary gears 69v revolve about saidstationary or sungear 70 with said frame, and are rotated about theirown axis. This moi' tion is transmitted to the baskets through thepinions 66 and gear-rims 62, causing the baskets to turn relatively tosaid rotary main frame until the brake lever G is released, whereuponthe sun gear 70 is again released and the gear trains 69, 66 and 62revolve idly with said mainframe without affecting the baskets.

To obtain the best extracting results, it is desirable to maintain thehoney-comb baskets in a position substantially tangential to their orbitor circular path of revolution about the driving shaft 15, because inthat position the centrifugal force, caused by the rotation of theframe, acts in a direction parallel to the honey-comb cells. Thisposition of the carrying baskets is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. A yieldingstop or springcatch 80 (Fig. is provided to prevent overtravel of thebaskets beyond thattangential position. This stop means may be of anyappropriate construction. That shown in the drawings consists of ahorizon- .tally-swinging armV 80 pivoted to one of the upper radial arms33 at 81 and arranged adjacent to one of the baskets. This arm`terminates in a stop-shoulderbr head 82 adapted to engage acorresponding shoulder 83 formed on o-r secured to one of the sideplates 44 of said basket, Figs. 1 and 3. The yielding pressure of saidhead 82 against the stop shoulder 83 is provided by a tension spring 84secured at one end to the adjacent radial arm 33 of the rota-ry frame,while its other end is secured to the free downturned end of an arm 85guided on the rotary frame by a clip 86v and connected to the head 82 ofthe stop arm 80. inasmuch as all of the supporting baskets are gearedtogether, only one resilient stop 80 and one pair of stop shoulders 83are required. As shown in Fig. 3, the basket stop-shoulders 83, arelocated at diametrically opposite sides of the basket and the stop 8Otherefore comes into operation after every half revolu tion of thebaskets relatively to the rotary frame.-

The general operation of the machine is as follows:

The honey-combs being placed in the baskets and power being transmittedto the upright shaft 15, the frame carrying the baskets is rapidlyrotated, causing the honey to be expelled from the combs by theresulting centrifugal force and thrown into t-he tank 11, from which itis discharged from` time to time through the valved spout 13. To reversethe comb-baskets the operator holds the sun gear 70 stationary on theshaft 15 by means of the brake lever 400, brake band 390 and drum 71,causing the baskets to be rotated on their own axes until the operatorreleases said brake band. When during such rotation of the baskets, oneof the sto-p shoulders 83 arrives opposite the stop-arm 80, these partsinterlock frictionally and arrest the further rotary movement of thebaskets, as hereinbefore described. These sto-p devices do notpositively lock the baskets, but only serve as positioning devices forthe baskets when they reach the desired tangential position alreadyreferred to and shown in Figs. 2 and 3, thus requiring less skill andcare on the part of the operator to stop the baskets in that position inreversing them. Then the baskets are to be again rotated 180 degrees,the resilient stop arm 80 is merely thrust back out of the way of thebasket shoulders 83 by the power which is imparted to the supportingrings 62 from the loose gear 70.

When small sized honey-combs are to be inserted into the supportingbaskets, it is preferable to employ one or more of the filler blockshereinbefore described.

Figs. 6, T and 8 show a modication in which double comb-carrying basketsare enr ployed instead of the single-comb baskets shown in thefirst-described construction. Tn this case, each of the supporting rings620 carries two of such supporting baskets which are substantiallyparallel to each other and secured together at. their upper ends andalso secured to said ring by a pair of bent connecting plates or strapsT5.

Each basket 430 is constructed substaui tially like the baskets t3previously describechbeing made up of a pair ot'` upright side plates440, a horizontal compression bar 450 joining the lower ends of saidside plates, a tension bar 160 secured to the opposite ends of saidcompression bar, a plurality of horizontal retaining bars 500 arrangedon either side ot' the basket and sec-ured at opposite ends to said sideplates, a pair of vertical retaining screens 510 arranged against theinner faces of said retaining bars, and a pair of risers 54() secured tothe upper tace of the compression bar l150 and adapted tosupport thehoney-comb holders that are placed in the supporting basket. The lowercompression bars 460 are preferably tied together centrally by achannel-iron or bridge-piece 7 6 from whose central part dependsl apivot-stud L170 which is journaled in the carrying ring 36 and acts asan axis of rotation for this double basket.

Standing obliquely between the twin supporting baskets 430 and securedat its opposite vertical edges to the connecting plates 75 is ahoney-deflecting plate 77. By this arrangement, 'the honey is dischargedfrom the inner sides of the opposing honey-combs against this obliquedeiiecting plate and thence flows into the honey receiving tank 11, thisaction resulting even though the honey-comb baskets be disposedtangentially to their orbits. This result would not be obtained ii thelioney-detlecting plates 77 were not arranged obliquely, because in sucha case the honey would accumulate on the inner face of said plate andthe centrifugal action of the rotary frame would in nowise tend to throwthe honey therefrom.

lith both ot' the single and double forms ot supporting baskets, thehoney-combs are evenly and properly supported and the bottom part of thebaskets is properly braced or trussed, so as to resist sagging ordistortion after continued use and abuse for a long period of time. Whenit is desired to remove the mechanism of the extractor for the purposesof cleaning or repair, it is necessary to remove the nuts of the bolts19 and lift all the Vworking parts as a unit out of the tank.

The rotation of the basket carrying trame not only centrifugally removesthe honey from the combs but also tends to throw out the entrappedair aswell, in the manner of a centrifugal air pump. This objectionable actionisv prevented by the baille plate 35 which stops said currents.

Vile claim as our invention:

1. A honey extractor comprising a tank, a frame rotatably mountedtherein, a supporting basket rotatably mounted in said fra-me, means for`rotating said supporting basket relatively to said Jframe, rictionalstop means mounted on said Jfra-me for limit- `stop means for all ofsaid baskets co-operating the rotation ot said basket relatively to saidframe, and a spring' for holdingy said stop-means in engagement withsaid basket.

2. A honey extractor comprising .a tank,V a frame rotatably mountedtherein, a supporting Vbasket rotatably mounted in said trame, meansi'or rotating said support-ing basket relatively to said frame, andstopmeans tor said basket including anarm pivoted to said rotary frameand arranged to engage the basket, a guide arm connected with saidpivoted arm, and a spring connecting said guide arm with said rotaryframe.

3. A honey extractor comprising a tank, a frame rotatablymo-unted'within said-tank, a supporting basket rotatably arranged insaid trame, and a stop for limiting the rotar movement of said basketrelatively to sait frame, said basket being provided at opposite sidesthereof with stopV devicesrcooperating with said stop to stop the rotarymovement of the basket twice during every complete turn thereof.

4. A honey extractor comprising a tank, an upright shaft journaledtherein, a frame mounted on said upright shaft, a plurality ofsupporting baskets rotatably mounted in said frame, means forsimultaneously rotating said baskets relatively to the frame, and

ing with only one of the same.

5. A honey extractor comprising a tank, a rotary frame arranged in saidtank, means for driving said frame, a plurality of honeycomb basketsrevoluble with said trame and 1G@ rotatable on their own axesindependently of said trame, gearing for rotating a pair voi', opposingbaskets, and gearing for transmitting rotary motion from the last-namedbaskets to the remaining baskets.

6. 1n a. honey-extractor, a honey-comb basket having a pair of verticalside members, an upper horizontal tension bar connecting the lower endsof said side members, a lower compression bar secured to opposite endsof said tension bar, and a vertical pivot having its upper portionarranged between said tension and compression bars and having itslowerfportion extended below said compression bar.

7. A honey-extractor, comprising a tank, a rotary trame arrangedVtherein, a battle plate arranged in the tank near its upper end andhaving openings, rot-ary gear rings guided in said openings, andhoney-comb baskets attached to said rings to`turn therewith,

8. 1n a honey-extractor, a honey-comb basket having a keyhole slot inits wall, and a filling block removably arranged in the basket andprovided vwith d. headed-pin engaging saidv slot.

9. In a honey-extractor, a honey-comb basket having an opening-in itsbottom and a keyhole slot in its wall, and a filling block removablyarmnged in the basket and provided at its lowei end with a, studengaging said bottom opening and near its upper end with a. headed pinengaging said keyhole slot.

l0. A honey-extractor, comprising a frame, a supporting member rotatablyan ranged in said frame, a plurality of honeycomb baskets secured insubstantially parallel relation to said supporting member on opl@ positesides of its axis, and a honey-deflecting plate arranged between saidbaskets and disposed oblquely thereto.

WILLIAM F. VOLLMER. JOHN N. DE MUTH.

